A "what if?" scenario similar to "Off the Record" where Chuck Greene and his daughter Katey are passing through Willamette, Colorado on their way to a mountain retreat when a zombie outbreak occurs. Rating may change based upon story events. ***DISCONTINUED: Rebooted as "Off the Record: Dead Rising"***

Author's Note: Hello to all of you, I am Metal Harbinger and this will mark my first serious attempt at a "Dead Rising" fic! I have played both DR1 and DR2, but have not yet played "Off the Record," but have been seriously contemplating it for a while now.

This fic is going to be my answer to "Off the Record," which features Frank West in the Fortune City environment. In this case it's going to be me asking the question "What if it was Chuck Greene in Willamette?"

Well as always I greatly appreciate your feedback so don't be afraid to drop a review or just drop a line and say hello and offer helpful suggestions if you wish!

Now on with the story!

Chapter 1: The Beginning of Heartache

Chuck Greene exhaled deeply as he took in the natural beauty around him, slowing the jeep to a gradual halt as a herd of deer bounded across the mountain highway, giving him an excuse to admire the splendor.

The sight of the late morning sun shining proudly over the ancient mountains, evergreen forests and crystalline streams, the birdsongs filling the air, the natural aroma of mint and pine, it all had such a tranquilizing effect upon him, reminding him of the camping trips he and his father would go on when he was little.

"Pam loved the outdoors too," he thought to himself, feeling the fresh tear creeping from the corner of his right eye.

A cacophony of electronic zaps and beeps came from next to him, followed by some cheesy superhero theme.

"Daddy look! I just reached the next level! Now Mega Man can use the Fire Storm attack!" Eight year old Katey Greene triumphantly exclaimed raising her Joy Boy 2000 so her father could see the screen.

The former motocross champion could feel himself choking back a sob as he felt his beloved daughter's blue eyes upon him and took a deep breath to calm himself, "Yeah, I see that! That's terrific! I'm so proud of you," he blurted out, wanting to do whatever he could to prevent his daughter from making further inquiries.

He was thankful he was wearing shades so she couldn't see the tear he was forced to blink away. There was no way he could allow himself to break down in front of her after everything that had been going on recently.

"You need to stay strong," he had told himself over and over again, "If you can't do it for Pam, do it for your daughter. She needs a father now more than ever," he reminded himself.

"Daddy, why are we stopping?" Katey asked as a semi-truck rounded the winding trail from the opposite lane.

"What?" Chuck blurted out, jumping as a horn honked behind him and he looked into the rearview mirror to see an auburn-haired woman in a station wagon, a child of her own in the passenger seat.

"Oh, oh yeah!" he said stepping on the gas and rounding the trail.

Chuck made his way down the mountain highway in silence, the only sounds filling the car being from Katey's gaming device. He didn't like listening to the radio in such a pristine environment, feeling like it would ruin the happy mood he was trying to create for him and his daughter.

He drove for a few more miles until he was able to spot a town in the distance, a nearby sign telling him the next exit would take him to 'Willamette.'

"Continue northbound for another quarter mile, then take Exit 28-S and continue following," the electronic female voice called out from his G.P.S., telling him he would be passing through the community.

He looked down to his gas meter and saw he would be due for a refill, so a stop would be necessary.

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According to the sign greeting him on his way in, Willamette, Colorado was a town of 53,594 people, yet it had a surprisingly laid back mountain atmosphere to it.

Chuck drove down Sycamore St. where several residents could be seen going about their daily routines, all looking pretty normal until he looked over to his right onto Forest Ave., where several police cars surrounded the site of an auto wreck and paramedics could be seen loading a covered figure into the back of an ambulance.

The former motocross champ looked down to Katey, who was still thankfully engrossed in her handheld game, before happening across the Tornado Gas Station and pulling up to one of the pumps.

"Alright, you just stay in here," Chuck said to his daughter, switching the jeep off and pulling out his credit card to swipe through the card reader. When an electronic beep followed, he reached for the pump and pulled back the flap to open his gas tank and slipped the pump in, punching in what kind of gas he wanted and clicking it into place.

He looked around while waiting patiently for his tank to fill up and looked across to see a sleek red convertible that almost made the ex-racer drool.

The car's owner stood next to it pumping gas, a man of Latin descent who looked to be around his age with black hair that fell to the bottom of his neck, an expensive-looking white dress shirt with wasp-like designs on it, black slacks and matching loafers. The top buttons of his shirt were open to reveal the medallion he wore underneath.

Whoever this man was, he stood out like a sore thumb in a small town like Willamette, looking as if he belonged in some palatial tropical estate, relaxing by the pool with a martini in hand and two women at each side tending to his most basic needs.

"Daddy, I have to go to the bathroom," Katey called out, distracting him from his current train of thought.

"Okay sweetie, just a sec," Chuck replied as he waited for the pump to click, signaling that his tank was full and slid it back into place, waiting for his receipt to print out. "Okay, c'mon."

He waited for his daughter to unsnap her seatbelt and followed her inside, watching as she disappeared into the ladies' room.

The smell of freshly-cooked pizza wafted into his nostrils and he looked over to a nearby heating case. Knowing the noon hour was approaching and feeling his stomach rumble on cue, Chuck decided he would get some snacks for the trip ahead of them and walked over to lift the lid, pulling out a cheese and sausage pizza for himself and then a pepperoni and sausage one for Katey, her favorite, and then making his way over to a nearby rack to grab some snacks for her and then over to a nearby cooler to grab two bottled sodas, one a Highland Mist and the other a Diet Fizzy Cola.

He waited for Katey to make her way out of the restroom and then made his way over to the cashier to pay for his food.

"Ooh Daddy, look!" the 8 year old suddenly called out.

"What is it-" Chuck asked looking away from cashier, only to gasp audibly and have his blue eyes nearly bulge out of his sockets from behind his shades.

Taped to the nearby window was a flier prominently displaying the grinning visage of a red-haired circus clown with two large chainsaws in hand. The big bold text underneath read "PERFORMING LIVE AT THE WILLAMETTE PARKVIEW MALL ON SAT. JUNE 18, 2011, BEBOP THE CLOWN!"

He had always been scared of clowns, ever since he had gotten lost in that carnival fun house when he was around Katey's age and had all of those clowns leaping out at him from every direction. It was a horrific incident that had given him nightmares for weeks and even today when he saw one he would still find himself getting anxious.

"Please Daddy? I promise I'll behave if you let me!" Katey shouted.

Chuck removed his shades and looked down into his daughter's blue eyes, their hue matching those of his own. The beautiful sight of her pleading eyes opened a new conflict within his mind.

Sure he was scared of clowns, yet at the same time a more logical part of his mind reminded him that she would need some form of distraction following what had happened to her mother. He could definitely use the opportunity to walk around and explore some of the mall's shops too, having been on the road for nearly three hours straight.

"We've got all day to get up to Mt. Buckingham," he said taking his daughter by the hand, "I guess we could take a little detour for a while," he finished, not sounding too sure of himself, only motivated to do so for the sake of his daughter.

"Oh, thank you Daddy! Thank you so much!" Katey Greene triumphantly whooped squeezing him tightly around his waist. "You're the bestest Dad in the entire world!"

"Anything for you sweetie," he said ruffling her hair as they made their way outside.

Little did the unsuspecting Chuck Greene know, it would be a fateful decision that would alter his life forever.

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Author's Note: And so concludes the first chapter of my first attempt at a Dead Rising fic!

This is another idea I've had floating around in my head for quite a while that I've been meaning to get some usage out of and now it feels good to finally get it up and going.

Obviously because this is intended to be a "what if?" alternate universe type fic, there will be slight diversions from the original story, but I will try to remain faithful to the "3 day window" seen in the original.

The chapter's title "The Beginning of Heartache" is meant to be an opposite word play on the Killswitch Engage song title "The End of Heartache."

Well I hope you all enjoyed so until then please read and review! This is Metal Harbinger saying SPREAD THE SICKNESS, ONE MIND AT A TIME! \m/

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.